Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cabin

[dragos28]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

OP, i've followed your thread intermittently, I also looked at the boat you mentioned in the OP...
I was considering going for a fixer upper but after much reading decided to just spend more $ and get a boat with low hours and in good shape.

I'd suggest expanding your search to most of california, a good deal is worth driving 3-4 hours for, as opposed to getting a crappy boat and having to fix it..

most of the boats listed in bakersfield are overpriced... i'd suggest L.A.

Good Luck with your search

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I have expanded my search to LA and Fresno area. Prices have been pretty consistant but with a larger potential pool, the possibility of finding a good boat is better. The One I am looking at this weekend hopefully is stored at a lake about 50 miles from me. Lake Isabella. He however lives about 150 miles from the lake.

The 91 Bayliner with the rotted floor, I actually just drove by at the donation center at the Salvation Army and saw it.

I found a 91 Galaxy in Fresno which is in very good condition allegedly. Trying to set up a time to go look at it this weekend also. His only problem is he works 2 jobs and has trouble getting free time to show the boat. Here is the link to the Galaxy. 91' GALAXY A bit more than I planned on spending. If he would take 2500, I could probably do it. Talking to him, the boat has a 2.3 4 cylinder with a cobra outdrive. I know the OMC Cobra is not ideal but if it was well taken care of, it could still be a good boat.

 

[pckeen]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

Looks well cared for.

 

[dragos28]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

Nice looking boat but the story smells a little fishy..
Who buys a boat for their son without them going with them... and sells it in two days..
I think they found a major problem with it and are trying to unload it...
but, what do i know.. it might just be a really good deal......

 

[NYBo]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

It does look to be in very good shape, but be advised that the 2.3L is an underpowered orphan, and some parts are nigh impossible to find.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

Talking to him, the boat has a 2.3 4 cylinder with a cobra outdrive. I know the OMC Cobra is not ideal but if it was well taken care of, it could still be a good boat.

Skip boats with OMCs(Cobras and Stringers) and Merc 470s and you will be way happier in the long run. They aren't worth the money you save on them initially.

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

He has taken the boat to the lake since he made the add. he is supposed to meet me at the lake saturday for a test drive. As far as who buys a boat for there son. It is a strange story but so far everyone i have talked to has had strange stories.

I did look at the 91 bayliner at goodwill today again. The entire floor is junk. I really like the rest of the boat so it kills me that the floor is so bad. Learning everything on here has helped because if i had not did my research that is the boat that would be in my driveway. Unfortunately also I cannot completly check the boat out because drilling into the stringers would be frowned upon . How much would you pay for a good boat with a bad floor?

Another delema I have is I may need to talk a little money with the guy with the Galaxy before I see it. I have 2500 at this point and he wants 2800. I do not want to waste a trip up there if he will not budge on the price. I typically do not talk any kind of money until I go over the vehicle.

Oh well.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

How much would you pay for a good boat with a bad floor?

Only as much as the parts on it were worth to me minus the value of my labor to strip it and the cost to dispose of the hull.
For the purposes of this discussion, a boat with a rotten floor is LANDFILL material

Maybe $100 or so

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

It looks like nice enough boat, but...

the boat has a 2.3 4 cylinder with a cobra outdrive.

2.3L (Ford I believe) engine is pretty dinky for an I/O. Then it's a Ford and parts won't be as easy to come by, as GM based engines. I have a 3.0L Mercruiser and certainly wouldn't want anything smaller.The engine size could one reason why the guy's son didn't like the boat, not enough power for watersports.

Then there's the ol' OMC thing.........

 

[83mulligan]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

If the floor is completely rotten on the bayliner, you can rest assured teh stringers and transom are too. Be prepared for an entire rebuild if you go that route.

 

[joelybob]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

Hang in there condor74:blue:. Glad to see you are passing on some of the less than perfect boats:faint2:your boat is out there it just needs to find YOU:lol:

 

[dragos28]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I was in the same situation.... getting pretty desperate as I really wanted a boat.
The only thing I can suggest and it might not be applicable is to up your budget.
I initially wanted to spend 5k... but ended up looking at boats that were up to 8K.
the 2001 sea ray 180 i picked up last sunday was advertised for 7500, and it was in west covina, 2.5 hour drive from bakersfield.
No sea/water trial... just on muffs... it looked and sounded great.
I negotiated the price down to 6800. I think its a fair price as the nada site values it at 7800~7500
If you must stick to a smaller budget, which sometimes is the case, money doesnt grow on trees, how about waiting for the tail end of the boating season when people realize that they now have to put their toys away and they'd rather just sell them off....

Just decided to do a quick search of the LA & Fresno area CL, put in the max price of 3000, as most guys up their price by 500 as a buffer for negotiations.

Here's a nice one
FOUR WINNS 170 FREEDOM..

southwind jet boat

this sea ray looks promising might be worth the phone call

SEA RAY

1986 Bayliner Capri I/O 2.3l Volvo Penta

Have fun

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I was in the same situation.... getting pretty desperate as I really wanted a boat.
The only thing I can suggest and it might not be applicable is to up your budget.
I initially wanted to spend 5k... but ended up looking at boats that were up to 8K.
the 2001 sea ray 180 i picked up last sunday was advertised for 7500, and it was in west covina, 2.5 hour drive from bakersfield.
No sea/water trial... just on muffs... it looked and sounded great.
I negotiated the price down to 6800. I think its a fair price as the nada site values it at 7800~7500
If you must stick to a smaller budget, which sometimes is the case, money doesnt grow on trees, how about waiting for the tail end of the boating season when people realize that they now have to put their toys away and they'd rather just sell them off....

Just decided to do a quick search of the LA & Fresno area CL, put in the max price of 3000, as most guys up their price by 500 as a buffer for negotiations.

Here's a nice one
FOUR WINNS 170 FREEDOM..

southwind jet boat

this sea ray looks promising might be worth the phone call

SEA RAY

1986 Bayliner Capri I/O 2.3l Volvo Penta

Have fun

Thanks for the links. I have actually seen most of the links there with the exception of the Four Winns. That one does look promising. I will give them a call today.

Another thing that I found which is really unrelated to my current search is while watching youtube videos of boats last night, I saw a video of an older boat that I would kill to have. A little background. Away from boats and everything else, I am die hard MOPAR guy. Every vehicle I have is some kind of Chrysler product. There was a guy driving an older 1970 Chrysler Marine Century Cheetah with a mid engine 318 that sounded pretty healthy. That is a boat I would love to have right there. Like I said, not really related to my current search but thought I would share that. Chrysler Marine Century Cheetah V8 318" 225hp Inboard Boat - YouTube Just thought I would share.

 

[ZEW]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I just wanted to chime in and say that I'm in the same situation as you... Low budget and finding more garbage than good out there. I really like the four winns boats and have found a few but reading about OMC going under in '01 and parts not being available really bummed me out. I like searay's but people want too much money for them or they're junk.

Keep up the good work. I'm waiting to see what you finally end up with!

 

[pckeen]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

If that goodwill boat has a good hull and motor, an inexpensive but sound restore may only cost $2000. Lots of work (a year) though.

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I agree there is a lot of junk. I am not to afraid of having an OMC powered boat. I am more concerned with the condition of the boat. That being said, I would prefer a Volvo or Mercruiser. Talking with my local marine mechanics, they dont have any problems with them as far as baing more or less reliable then anything else. The only concern they had is because they are out of buisness. They didnt seem to concerned with the availabilty of parts. That and it seems 80% of the boats i have looked at had OMC Cobra or Stringer outdrives.

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I had to make a decesion tonight on which boat to look at. The guy with the 85 Bayliner cuddy cabin said he is going to the lake tomorrow and we can look the boat over and go for a test drive.

The gut with the 91 Galaxy is planning to go to a different lake and I could have an oportunity to look at that boat.

I think the wife likes the looks of the Galaxy better but it does have a 4 cylinder and an OMC Cobra.

The Bayliner is a bit bigger but it does have a V8 and Volvo Penta power. The Bayliner is a bit closer.
The Bayliner won out. It is the same year and model that started this thread so maybe it is in the cards. If I get to it and dont like it or find floor issues I will have to find a way to reschedule the guy with the Galaxy.

Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.

 

[etracer68]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

I would stay away from the omc stinger drives, as parts are hard to come by.
The omc cobra is a good drive, but its harder to find people to work on them, and parts are still around, but getting harder to find.
The older Volvos, with mechanical tilt, are good drives, but have only tilt, and trim is to be used only at very low rpms. There also locked down for reverse, and those locking dogs wear and need to be ajusted alot.
The mercs are all around easyer to get parts for, but the upper end is lite duty, compared to the omc cobra.
Also stay away from ford motors. Although there are some chevys to stay away from too, am sure you have been told what ones.
The one your looking at today, make sure the drive stays down in reverse, dont give it power in forword until the light is out in the tilt swich. those tilt systems are very $$$ to repair or buy used.

Good luck today.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

An OMC Cobra wouldn't bother me too much if it's in good shape, but I doubt I would take a King Cobra or Stringer if you paid me.

 

[condor74]

Re: Do I need this Boat project or should I keep looking. 85 Bayliner 2150 Cuddy Cab

Great advice. I looked at a couple with OMC stringers and they are a bit different. I had some people tell me that they had an issue with the lift mechanism locking up when the trim is placed in a certain position. If you do not know, the stringer drive uses a gear drive motor to lift and lower the outdrive. it uses another electric motor that lifts and loweres the back of the engine for trim adjustments. When you lift or lower the back of the motor the entire drive and motor change angles as an assembly. I have read that the stringer does not like to have the prop engaged and turning when the outdrive is up.

As far as finding someone to work on them. It will most likely be me.